Typical skate boots are fabricated by assembling together previously die-cut pieces of textile material and shaping them over a last. Various pieces of textiles or fabrics are cut to specific patterns, which are then pre-assembled by stitching or gluing or both into a multi-layer construction. The rigidity and flexibility characteristics of the skate boot are defined by the various layers of materials being positioned and layered in specific regions of the pre-assembled component of the skate boot. The accumulation of pieces of material into layers and the mechanical properties of each piece of textile or fabric material define the overall dynamic behavior of the skate boot. Usually, the pre-assembled component further includes rigid components generally made of plastic to increase the rigidity of specific areas of the skate boot. The pre-assembled boot generally consists of the back and sides of the skate boot and a toe cap and tongue assembly. The pre-assembled boot has the general configuration of the finished product but has not yet been shaped to the final form of the skate boot.
The pre-assembled component is positioned over a last and formed to obtain the shape of the desired finished product. A last is a three-dimensional shape of the inside cavity of a boot. The pre-assembled boot may be mounted upside down onto the last for ease of manipulation and assembly of the remaining components making up the skate boot. An insole is placed on the top part of the upside down last and the pre-assembled boot is stretched over the last and over the insole in order for the pre-assembled boot to conform to the specific shape of the last. The stretched material is then glued and nailed or tacked to the insole to maintain the desired shape. Once the upper part of the skate boot is completed, a rigid outsole is glued to the insole of the boot to complete the skate boot. An ice blade holder or an in-line roller chassis is finally mounted to the bottom of the boot to complete the skate.
This type of process is extensively used in the shoemaking industry. It generates a good product but has some disadvantages. For instance, the number of parts involved in the multi-layer construction can be staggering; a conventional ice skate for hockey may have up to eighty parts to be assembled and shaped over the last. As a consequence, the manufacturing process is lengthy and complex. The nature of the assembly of parts is inherently labor-intensive and slow as there are many manual tasks to be performed and many steps are necessary to complete the footwear. The considerable number of elements to be assembled entails an increased risk of errors, particularly in the alignment of the various pieces of the pre-assembled boot, which contributes to an increase in the number of rejected boots or skates in the manufacturing process or, at least, a reduction in the quality of the overall production. This traditional process of making skate boots also requires several molds and cutting dies to produce all the pieces necessary for making the pre-assembled boot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,276 issued to Bourque discloses a skate boot made of a combination of plastic and fabric material. The disclosed skate boot consists of a lower exterior molded rigid plastic portion and intermediate and upper portions made of pliable material to allow forward flexure and torsional flexibility in the ankle area.
There remains a need in the industry for a skate boot made of fewer components than the traditionally made skate boot yet provides a skate boot that performs as well as a traditionally made skate boot. There is also a need for a skate which provides flexibility and durability as well as optimal performance.